The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has launched a new microsite to connect residents to critical economic opportunity services provided by NYCHA’s community partners. Services include adult education and training, employment, financial empowerment programs, as well asresident business development services in their neighborhoods. The site,www.OpportunityNYCHA.org, is an extension of NYCHA’s Office of Resident Economic Empowerment and Sustainability (REES), whose mission is to support residents’ increased income and assets through programs, policies and collaborations.

As outlined in Plan NYCHA, the Authority’s roadmap for preservation, NYCHA is committed to connecting residents and communities to critical programs and services. The newly launched microsite will serve as a hub for NYCHA residents to find local resources in their communities that can help them to obtain a General Education Diploma (GED); enroll in a job-training program; create a budget and reduce debt; and advance their dreams of entrepreneurship into reality. OpportunityNYCHA.org is a tool that NYCHA residents can use to make informed decisions about economic opportunity services and connect to available resources within their neighborhood.

OpportunityNYCHA.org’s goals are threefold:

To educate, persuade and connect.Each functional area overview page and sub-pages explain the nature of services and how they can help residents to achieve economic success, including remaining current with key REES initiatives, such as the NYCHA Resident Training Academy (NRTA), and upcoming events in their neighborhood.

To learn more about REES. On the pages, residents will learn about REES’ role in establishing partnerships and implementing strategic projects with economic opportunity service providers that achieve solid outcomes. Through this partnership-based “Zone Model,” residents will have access to a more comprehensive suite of services, located closer to home.

To provide multiple means of accessing information. A resident may come to the site seeking a nearby opportunity, or seeking a specific service. The site will provide residents with a means of navigating the pagesthat meet their interests.

REES currently has four Economic Opportunity Zones, or geographic areas, where local partners are based and are providing a host of education, employment, and financial services to NYCHA residents through a web-based referral system. Currently operating zones include downtown Brooklyn, the Lower East Side, the South Bronx, and Upper Manhattan. NYCHA is actively working to expand and launch more service coordination zones with partners citywide who either offer or aspire to offer services to public housing residents.

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About the New York City Housing Authority:

NYCHA is committed to increasing opportunities for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers by providing safe, affordable housing and facilitating access to social and community services. More than 400,000 New Yorkers reside in NYCHA’s 334 public housing developments around the five boroughs, and another 235,000 receive subsidized rental assistance in private homes through the NYCHA-administered Section 8 Leased Housing Program.